Paper Point Public Health Column: Congress Prioritizes Oral Healthcare with Hearings and Groundbreaking Legislation
By Dr. Brandon Barnett
So, a lot has happened since the last entry in our Public Health column.
Early this summer, on May 16, 2024, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), held a bipartisan hearing to discuss how to make dental care more accessible.
“When we talk about the healthcare crisis in America, I am afraid that far too often we ignore a very important aspect of that crisis: tens of millions of Americans are either unable to afford or unable to access the kind of dental care they need. As a result, there is widespread suffering throughout the country that largely goes unseen.” — Bernie Sanders
This committee hearing comes alongside The Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act of 2023, which is currently making its way through Congress, and the Senate Finance Committee’s 2023 Oral Health Crisis Hearing, where witnesses offered recommendations to address oral health disparities in America. Together, these developments highlight a positive trend: dentistry is increasingly being featured in major policy discussions about affordability and access to healthcare. During these discussions, the voices and demands of oral healthcare providers and their patients have been prominently featured and heard.
The May 16 hearing focused on several key themes. Witnesses discussed expanding Medicaid dental coverage for low-income patients, adding a universal Medicare dental benefit for people over the age of 65 (which would cost Medicare $23.8 billion per year—less than what Medicare spent on the now discontinued Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm), and investing in oral health innovation through means like cross-state licensure, physician-led oral health screening and referrals, and the ever-controversial expanded function dental therapist.
On the day of the hearing, Sen. Sanders introduced the Comprehensive Dental Reform Act, which he calls “the most comprehensive piece of dental care legislation that we’ve ever seen in our country.” This act targets five critical areas of American dental care: Coverage, Access Points, the Workforce, Education, and Research.
Some highlights of the act include classifying adult dental services as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act, higher reimbursement rates for dental services under Medicaid, a new oral health professional student loan program (with lower interest rates than GRAD-PLUS loans—nurses already have a similar loan program), and the employment of “alternative” dental healthcare providers for the VA, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and Indian Health Service.
Time will tell how this bill will progress through Congress. (Fun fact, only 6% of legislation introduced in Congress actually passes) but one thing seems apparent: our legislators may be starting to take our oral healthcare concerns seriously. I encourage you to take some time out of your busy schedules to listen to the hearing below and review the provisions of the Comprehensive Dental Reform Act.
Thanks for reading. Until next time.
Link to the full hearing: https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/examining-the-dental-care-crisis-in-america-how-can-we-make-dental-care-more-affordable-and-more-available
Link to Highlights of the Comprehensive Dental Reform Act of 2024 (CDRA): https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Summary-Comprehensive-Dental-Reform-Act-of-2024.pdf
Bill S.4357. The full text of the Comprehensive Dental Reform Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4357/text